One more brand takes up the SUV. After years of discussion, Alfa Romeo has finally joined the bandwagon and is testing its very first SUV called the Stelvio. The talks about the SUV were happening since 2008 but the word wasn’t confirmed till 2014 when the FCA chief announced it being part of the five-year strategy. Moreover, there will be two more SUVs announced in the near future – one will be positioned below the Stelvio and one above it.
Well, to be honest, it makes sense in launching the SUV now as literally every brand is trying to enter this highly potent segment as customers are willing to spend the extra bucks to sit higher. Sister company Maserati also launched their SUV called the Levante. Also, since FCA also owns Jeep, the SUV technology can be easily passed on to other brands within the company.
The Stelvio is a compact crossover SUV. This means the car will competing against the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC. Since it is a crossover, it will be sharing the platform with a saloon – most likely the Alfa Romeo Giulia. It also means that Stelvio will be coming with both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive platforms. Moreover, the powertrains will be similar as well – the Stelvio will have a 2.0 liter turbocharged engine as a base model and the top-spec trim will have twin-turbocharged 2.9 liter V6. The gearbox will be the standard eight-speed automatic.
From the pictures, it is hard to speak about the looks as the car is heavily camouflaged. But, it does resemble the Giulia a bit. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is set to enter production by end of this year. This means the car will be available by mid next year. But the car will be previewed in either of the motor shows happening end of this year.
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